The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s office on Sunday made its first announcement on the death of actor Matthew Perry, saying the 54-year-old’s cause of death report has been “deferred.”
Perry was discovered unresponsive in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home around 4 p.m. Saturday, as Breitbart News reported.
Los Angeles authorities said the Friends star “was found in a jacuzzi” inside “an L.A.-area home” — without specifying whether it was Perry’s home or someone else’s. The outlet’s anonymous sources said the actor appears to have drowned.
File/Actor Matthew Perry waves as he watches the Los Angeles Lakers play the Seattle SuperSonics in their NBA basketball game, Friday night, Nov. 3, 2006, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
On Sunday, the coroner’s office updated its case online, saying the cause of death had been “deferred.” That typically means an autopsy has been completed but the examiner needs more time and additional investigation into the death, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
“Deferred means that after an autopsy, a cause of death has not been determined and the medical examiner is requesting more investigation into the death, including additional studies,” a spokesperson for the department previously explained to the outlet, when the coroner deferred the case of death for Lisa Marie Presley, who died in January.
“Once the tests/studies come back, the doctor evaluates the case again and makes the cause of death determination.”
Update: https://t.co/KAe06pczu9
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) October 30, 2023
A spokesperson told People on Sunday that the results of Perry’s autopsy are pending a toxicology report, which can take several weeks to complete.
Perry was born Aug. 19, 1969, in Williamstown, Massachusetts.